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| CSC escape report not pretty |
| By St. Petersburg Times |
| Published: 09/10/2001 |
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An officer handed a key to the three youths who escaped from Cypress Creek Correctional Facility in May, but that wasn't the only problem. Management also wasn't keeping the doors locked, Florida investigators have found. Supervisors at the juvenile prison failed to ensure doors were properly locked, according to a report released by the Inspector General of the Department of Juvenile Justice. Also, the master control panel, which is used to control all the facility's doors, frequently gave false readings, which means officers could not tell if a door was really locked or unlocked, the report said. All of these factors contributed to the May 4 escape of three inmates from Cypress Creek, which houses some of the state's most hard-core juvenile offenders. Two of the inmates, Jeffrey Deberry, 17, and Darious White, 18, were chased down before they could climb an outer security fence. The third, AnthonyValazquez, 18, was apprehended by a Citrus County sheriff's deputy a short time later. The person most directly responsible for the escape was detention officer Ryan Johnson, the report said. According to interviews the escapees gave inspectors, Johnson gave Valazquez his keys on the evening of the escape so the youth could open his bedroom door. At about 9:55 p.m. Valazquez used those keys to open an outside door, which leads to the facility's drill pad, or exercise area. The three teens climbed over a security fence, using a blanket to protect themselves from the razor wire. Another officer told investigators he saw Johnson give his keys to one of the teens. He was suspended for one day for failing to immediately notify a supervisor of the violation. Johnson, who worked at the prison for about a year, could not be reached for comment. He was fired May 17. The master control operator at the time of the escape, said the drill pad doors would 'circulate,' which means they would open on their own, the report said. A staff member would then have to manually lock the door. Other officers told inspectors the locks at Cypress Creek did not work properly and the doors were frequently kicked in by inmates. |
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